Distribution and Conservation Status of the Newly-Discovered Arunachal

In search of the munzala: distribution and conservation status of the newly-discovered Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala R .SureshK umar,Nabam G ama,R.Raghunath,Anindya S inha and C harudutt M ishra

Abstract The recently-described Arunachal macaque habitats (tropical rainforests, subtropical and temperate Macaca munzala is so far known only from western forests, alpine meadows) and a unique location at the Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India. Here we present the junction of the Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma biogeo- first conservation status assessment for the species. Our graphical zones have contributed to the rich diversity of surveys enumerated a total of 569 individuals in the Tawang mammalian fauna in this state (Mishra et al., 2006). Large and West Kameng districts of the State. The species seems to forest tracts still remain, partly due to the low human density 2 be tolerant of anthropogenic habitat change but is vulnerable across the state (13 km- ; Government of India, 2003). to hunting. A low infant to adult female ratio suggests that Recent surveys in the mid to high elevations of western not all adult females reproduce at any given time, and Arunachal Pradesh led to the discovery of the Arunachal females do not give birth every year. The macaques are macaque Macaca munzala (Plate 1; Sinha et al., 2005). The persecuted largely in response to crop damage, with the primate, belonging to the sinica species-group of the genus practice of keeping them as pets providing an added in- Macaca, was described as a new species based on its mor- centive to hunting. The species is, however, able to attain phology. Subsequent analyses of mitochondrial DNA re- remarkably high densities in the absence of hunting. Crop conﬁrmed its distinct identity (Chakraborty et al., 2007). damage by the macaque is widespread; patterns of crop The species occurs largely at altitudes of 2,000–3,000 min damage are similar across altitudinal zones and do not seem Arunachal Pradesh’s westernmost districts of Tawang 2 2 to be correlated with macaque density. The species will need (2,172 km ) and West Kameng (7,422 km ; Fig. 1). Given to be protected in human-modified landscapes, and the the contiguity of habitat, it should also occur in the bor- issues of crop damage and retaliatory persecution need to be dering areas of central Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in addressed urgently. Bhutan and Tibet, although these areas have not yet been Keywords Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya, human- surveyed for the species. wildlife conflict, hunting, India, Macaca munzala, primate. Within Arunachal Pradesh we believe that the Tawang district, given its particular ethnic composition and prac- tices, should support the highest density of the macaque Introduction and provide the best conservation prospects for the species. In most other areas of the state, hunting, an important part he north-eastern region of India, comprising seven of the traditions of most of Arunachal Pradesh’s 26 tribes, 11 Tstates, supports the highest diversity ( species) of seriously threatens wildlife populations (Datta, 2007). Pri- 2005 primates in the country (Kumar et al., ; Sinha et al., mates are commonly hunted for meat and medicine (Borang 2005 2006 ; Srivastava, ). Amongst these states, Arunachal & Thapliyal, 1993; Singh, 2001). However, people of the 1 Pradesh (Fig. ) is arguably the country’s richest region Buddhist Monpa agro-pastoral tribe inhabiting the Tawang in terms of its terrestrial biodiversity. A wide altitudinal district, and constituting c. 5% of the population of the 1 000 . 6 000 range ( , to , m), an associated diversity of state, generally do not hunt primates (Mishra et al., 2006). Some of the villages in Tawang have voluntarily prohibited the hunting of wildlife in their village forests (Mishra et al., 2006). Many of our sightings of the Arunachal macaque have been in the proximity of villages and, although wary R. SURESH KUMAR, NABAM GAMA, R. RAGHUNATH, ANINDYA SINHA* y (Corresponding author) and CHARUDUTT MISHRA Nature Conservation of people, they were relatively tolerant of human presence Foundation, 3076/5, 4th Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore 570002, India. E-mail (Sinha et al., 2005). This is in contrast to most other areas of [email protected] Arunachal Pradesh, including adjoining West Kameng, *Also at: National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore 560012, India. where primates are less frequently sighted and are extremely shy of human presence. yAlso at: International Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N, Suite 325, Seattle, Washington 98103, USA. We have, nevertheless, recorded a certain level of per- Received 11 June 2006. Revision requested 26 September 2006. secution of the Arunachal macaque even within Tawang Accepted 1 May 2007. district, largely in retaliation for crop damage (Mishra et al.,

ª 2008 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 42(3), 360–366 doi:10.1017/S0030605308006121 Printed in the United Kingdom Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 24 Sep 2021 at 03:20:13, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605308006121 Conservation of the Arunachal macaque 361

FIG. 1 Sighting locations of the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala in western Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India. The cluster of sightings in north-west Tawang district represents those from the Zemithang area where hunting is prohibited by the village councils. Solid circle on inset indicates location of the main ﬁgure in India.

2006). The flesh of the macaque is considered to be of include broad-leaved forests (up to 3,000 m, with Rhodo- medicinal value locally, particularly for livestock (C. Mishra dendron, Acer, Alnus and Quercus as the dominant species), & A. Sinha, pers. obs.). We have also observed the practice mixed conifer broad-leaved forests (3,000–4,200 m, with of keeping juvenile macaques as pets amongst the Monpa Abies densa, Juniperus, Larix, Picea, Rhododendron and (Sinha et al., 2005). Quercus), and forest clearings (pastureland created by Here we report the first ever assessment of the conser- clearing and burning broad-leaved forests and mixed vation status of the Arunachal macaque in western conifer broad-leaved forests, with shrubs such as Rosa Arunachal Pradesh. Our first objective was to map its current distribution and estimate its abundance in the Tawang and West Kameng districts. Our second objective, following on from earlier observations (Mishra et al., 2006), was to develop an understanding of the nature and extent of conflict between the Arunachal macaque and people.

Study area

Tawang and West Kameng districts together encompass a wide altitudinal gradient (150–7,000 m), south of the Great Himalayan Range. The region is drained by the Tawang Chu, Nyamjang Chu and their tributaries in Tawang, and the Bhareli and its tributaries in West Kameng. The main vegetation types, where primates occur, PLATE 1 The Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala.

ª 2008 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 42(3), 360–366 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 24 Sep 2021 at 03:20:13, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605308006121 362 R. S. Kumar et al.

and Berberis, and forbs such as Anaphalis, Potentilla, enumerate all the individuals in a troop because of poor Sambucus, Rumex and Senecio). At low to mid elevations visibility. The data, therefore, represent partial counts and the broad-leaved forests are degraded in the vicinity of provide a conservative estimate of the population. human habitations and form secondary scrub, with re- The Zemithang region of Tawang district, from where duced tree cover, and dominated by species such as the holotype and paratypes of the Arunachal macaque were Erythrina, Rhus, Elaeagnus and Debregeasia. first reported (Sinha et al., 2005), has a relatively high The other primates in the region include the capped macaque density and the least hunting pressure of the sites langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Assamese macaque M. surveyed because most of the village councils in this region assamensis, rhesus macaque M. mulatta, and the slow loris have prohibited hunting (Mishra et al., 2006). We therefore 2 Nycticebus bengalensis. Amongst macaques, the Arunachal extensively surveyed a 10.6-km area in this region to macaque was the predominant species in the altitudinal estimate the density of the species. range that we surveyed. We did not sight any other macaque species in Tawang, although some troops of the Arunachal Human-macaque relationships macaque at lower altitudes appeared to have morphologi- cally variant individuals. The region’s wildlife includes To study the conflict between people and the Arunachal mountain ungulates such as the serow Nemorhaedus suma- macaque we initially conducted rapid assessments in 54 and traensis, three species of goral Nemorhaedus spp., takin 10 villages in Tawang and West Kameng districts, respec- Budorcas taxicolor, and carnivores such as the dhole Cuon tively. In each village at least 1–6 individuals or groups of alpinus, Himalayan black bear Selenarctos thibetanus, and individuals were interviewed. Without invoking the mac- the snow leopard Uncia uncia at higher altitudes. aques, we asked the interviewees to list the factors they The people of the region are largely agro-pastoralists, believed were responsible for crop losses. The potential with a few villages at high altitudes being predominantly factors considered were frost, disease, insect pests, rodents pastoral. Millet and maize are the major crops, followed by and wildlife. The interviewees’ perceptions of the impor- wheat, buckwheat, potatoes and chillies. Vegetable crops tance of each factor were graded as very serious, serious, and fruits such as apple, peach and plum are also grown in moderate, and of low or no concern. The interviewees were kitchen gardens and near settlements. People in Tawang then asked about the wildlife species causing crop losses and and West Kameng districts mainly practice settled agricul- their responses graded in a similar fashion. For simplicity, ture, often up to 3,000 m, unlike in most other districts of during analysis, the two highest categories of importance the state where shifting cultivation is predominant. (very serious and serious) were combined into a single Whereas the Monpa tribe is the predominant commu- category (high). The wildlife categories in this survey in- nity inhabiting Tawang district (with a density of 16 people cluded wild pig Sus scrofa, barking deer Muntiacus muntjak, 2 km- ; Government of India, 2003), the adjoining areas of birds, Arunachal macaques, porcupines Hystrix sp., and 2 West Kameng (10 people km- ; Government of India, 2003) rodents. Altitude, location with a GPS, and crops grown in also has Sherdukpen, Khowa, Aka and Miji communities, in each of these villages were also recorded. addition to the Monpa. From the 64 villages originally surveyed we conducted door-to-door interviews in six selected villages (Rho, Shyro, Methods Jangda and Thingbu in Tawang; Morshing and Berichi in West Kameng) to collect further information on human- Distribution and abundance macaque conflict. The selection of villages accommodated (1) adequate coverage of altitudinal zones, (2) inclusion of Between April 2004 and August 2005 we conducted vehic- high-conflict villages based on the initial rapid surveys, and ular surveys, covering a distance of c. 1,000 km thrice, (3) logistic feasibility. Five of the surveyed villages are large, stopping to scan regularly for macaques at selected vantage whereas Berichi is small, with only 13 families. In each village points. Surveys were also made on foot, covering c. 400 km we interviewed at least one member in each family. We asked along existing trails and paths. At every sighting we recorded each interviewee about the extent of crop losses due to information on troop size and composition, altitude, loca- macaques, graded their response, and estimated the extent of tion (with a global positioning system, GPS) and habitat conflict by examining the proportion of respondents in each features. These data gave an estimate of the minimum category (low, medium, high). The interviewees were also population of the Arunachal macaque and its distribution asked about which crops were damaged, how often mac- in western Arunachal Pradesh. In cases where macaques aques raided the crop fields, and the extent of crop loss in were repeatedly sighted in the same area, and where there monetary terms. Each of the interviewees was asked whether was a possibility of multiple counts, we used data only from and how many macaques they had killed, what techniques the sighting in which the maximum number of individuals they had employed, and what they had done with the was recorded. In most instances (86%), we could not carcasses.

TABLE 1 Distribution of Arunachal macaque troops and levels of anthropogenic disturbance in the form of felling, individuals by vegetation type. livestock grazing, lopping and leaf litter collection. 60 % of total Troop size ranged from solitary to . individuals. No. of No. of individuals Troops were generally multimale-multifemale, with an Vegetation type troops individuals sighted average size of 16.3 – SD 13.4 individuals. In the troops where Crop fields 4 34 6.0 a majority of individuals could be classified (n 5 22), the Degraded broad-leaved forest 9 165 29.0 overall adult sex ratio was 52 males per 100 females, with 17 Degraded open scrub 7 154 27.1 infants per 100 adult females, and 110 juveniles per 100 Forest clearing 3 87 15.3 females. Our preliminary demographic data on six troops Abies forest 3 23 4.0 observed in some detail between August 2003 and May 2006 Dense oak forest 7 63 11.1 Riverine forest 2 43 7.6 indicate that the adult females in these troops may have an 2 Total 35 569 inter-birth interval of years but longer term observations are required to confirm this.

Results Human-macaque relationships

Distribution and abundance In 69% of the 64 villages where rapid assessments were conducted people reported wildlife to be the most common Of the total of 35 Arunachal macaque troops sighted, with cause of high crop losses (Fig. 3a). Crop diseases, insect at least 569 individuals (Table 1), 32 troops (540 individuals) pests, and rodents were reported to cause high crop losses were seen in Tawang, and 3 troops (29 individuals) in West in only two, one, and two of the surveyed villages, re- Kameng district (Fig. 1). Information from local people spectively. Amongst wildlife, Arunachal macaques, wild indicated the possible occurrence of at least 25 other troops pigs and porcupines caused 55, 50 and 23% of crop losses in in the region. Most of the macaques were sighted at the surveyed villages, respectively (Fig. 3b). Other wildlife altitudes of 2,000–2,250 m, although we recorded them species reportedly causing crop losses were the Himalayan up to 3,000 minfirAbies densa forests (Fig. 2). Local people black bear, goral, and birds such as the kaleej pheasant reported seasonal occurrence of macaques up to 3,500 m, Lophura leucomelana and blackbirds Turdus spp.. and we accordingly estimated the total potential macaque The extent of crop damage by macaques was reportedly habitat (all areas below 3,500 m) within Tawang district to 2 highest at altitudes of 2,000–2,500 m, possibly because of be c. 800 km (one third of the district’s total area). In the the relatively greater abundance of villages and agricultural Zemithang area of Tawang district we recorded 10 troops fields in this zone (Fig. 4). Patterns in the intensity of crop (234 individuals), and estimated a density of 0.94 troops 2 damage, however, was similar across altitudinal zones and 22.01 individuals km- . (Fig. 4), with the exception of the high altitude zone where Over 75% of all individual Arunachal macaques sighted agriculture is limited. were in human-modified landscapes and forests (Table 1); In five of the six surveyed villages, 87–100% of the more than half of these individuals were in degraded broad- respondents reported a high intensity of conflict with leaved forests and open scrub in the vicinity of human macaques (Table 2). The only exception was the high altitude habitations. These degraded forests had moderate to high village of Thingbu, a largely pastoral settlement that has little cultivation and where, because of religious beliefs, the village council imposes a fine of INR 1,000 on anyone hunting macaques. In the detailed door-to-door surveys in the six villages only 3% of a total of 238 respondents could not offer an opinion. Half of the respondents reported damage to all crops by the Arunachal macaque, while the other half reported damage mainly to maize and millet. Buckwheat, which is limited in cultivation, was reportedly the least affected crop. Crop damage was reported to occur throughout the year, with maximum damage in July–September. We could not reliably estimate the extent of crop losses in terms of yield or money but eight people estimated the average loss to be INR 3 250 4 600 70 100 FIG. 2 Altitudinal distribution of the sightings of the Arunachal , – , (c. USD – ) per family per year. macaque in Tawang and West Kameng districts of western Amongst the five villages with high levels of conflict, 92% Arunachal Pradesh (Fig. 1). of people acknowledged the occurrence of retaliatory killing

FIG. 3 Main causes of crop losses identiﬁed by people during perception surveys of human-primate conﬂict in 64 villages in western Arunachal Pradesh.

of macaques in two villages, people completely denied (Mishra et al., 2006). Yet, it supports a significant population macaque persecution in one, and 3 and 11% of respondents of the Arunachal macaque. The fact that . 75% of our acknowledged its occurrence in the other two villages, sightings of the Arunachal macaque were in human- respectively. Only three of the respondents admitted to modified landscapes suggests that the species is tolerant of killing macaques. In the four villages where persecution was some level of anthropogenic habitat modification. This is confirmed, people reported an average of 35 macaques killed consistent with the ecological adaptability and behavioural over the last 5 years (Table 2). Snaring was the most flexibility that characterize a majority of the 21 species of commonly reported method employed, although guns and Macaca. The genus occupies a very wide range of habitats bows and arrows were also used. In most cases, the carcass and, amongst primates, is second only to humans in terms of was thrown away. We twice came across carcasses displayed its global geographical range (Fa & Lindburg, 1996). Species prominently close to habitation, presumably to deter further such as the rhesus and bonnet macaque M. radiata represent crop raiding. We also recorded one instance in which the extreme examples of macaques that can continue to persist carcass of an adult male that had been killed after it had even inside towns and cities (Malik & Johnson, 1994; Sinha, entered a house was to be cooked for treating sick livestock. 2001; Imam et al., 2002). The ability of these species to use We recorded eight captive individuals of the Arunachal extra food from crop fields or anthropogenic waste from macaque (a juvenile male and seven females: an adult, five human settlements can offset the effects of habitat degrada- juveniles and an infant) kept as pets. tion and result in the stability or even growth of such populations (Zhao, 1999). The population density attained Discussion even by the Arunachal macaque, as exemplified in the Zemithang area, can be remarkably high, comparable with Tawang has the highest human density of all Arunachal the highest densities reported for macaques in general 2 Pradesh districts, and has widespread cultivation with con- (e.g. Macaca mulatta: 9–17 individuals km- , Southwick & 2 siderable forest degradation and loss over its entire area Siddiqi, 2001; M. fascicularis: 15–39 km- , M. nemestrina: 2 2 5 km- , Chapman, 1995; M. thibetana: 24–56 km- , Zhao, 2 1999; M. sylvanus: 20–29 km- , Camperio Ciani et al., 2000; 2 M. fuscata: 13–27 km- , Hanya et al., 2005). Although we confirmed the presence of the Arunachal macaque up to 3,000 m, and its seasonal occurrence was reported up to 3,500 m, it appears to be a mid to high elevation species. We recorded a maximum abundance at 2,000–2,500 m (Fig. 2) but this was largely due to the high density (c. 41% of sighted individuals) in an area of only 2 10.6 km in Zemithang, where it is not hunted. We therefore believe that, if hunting could be controlled, the species would attain much greater abundance at other altitudes. Crop damage by macaque species is not commonly

FIG. 4 Altitudinal distribution of the intensity of crop damage by reported as a problem from other parts of Arunachal the Arunachal macaque. The number of villages surveyed in Pradesh, possibly because macaques are eaten in most of each altitudinal zone is indicated next to the bars. these areas and the surviving troops are extremely shy and

TABLE 2 Intensity of human-macaque conflict in six villages of western Arunachal Pradesh (see Fig. 1 for locations). The intensity is depicted as the percentage of the total of 238 respondents reporting each category of conflict (Low, Medium, High, see text for details). The persecution of macaques in retaliation for crop damage is shown as the percentage of respondents from each village that confirmed the killing of macaques and the mean number of instances of macaque killing reported over 2000–2005. Intensity of conflict Number of Mean number of residents who macaques killed – SD Total number reported killing of (number of respondents Village of respondents Low Medium High macaques (%) reporting macaque killing) Berichi 12 0 0 100 11 (92) 11 – 2.1 (11) Jangda 53 0 0 100 6 (11) 11 – 4.0 (3) Morshing 29 0 0 100 1 (3) 4 (1) Rho 58 0 0 100 53 (92) 9 – 3.0 (5) Shyro 46 13 0 87 0 (0) Thingbu 40 89 3 8 0 (0)

retiring. Traditionally, shifting cultivators have combined The Arunachal macaque is the first new macaque species cultivation with hunting of crop-raiding animals for food to be described in over a century, the last macaque to be (Naughton-Treves et al., 1998). As hunting for food and described being the Pagai macaque M. pagensis in 1903. sport is not prevalent in Tawang, conflicts over crop damage Appropriate conservation education efforts are required to by wildlife are common. Our data indicate that the intensity communicate the global significance of the Arunachal ma- of crop damage by the Arunachal macaque across altitudinal caque to the communities in the state. The species has the zones does not appear to be correlated with its abundance. potential to become a tourism resource as well as a conser- Crop-raiding animals generally do not give up feeding on vation flagship, as has been noted for other primates (Hill, wild food but expand their diet to include crops (Naughton- 2002). Given the Buddhist beliefs of the Monpa community Treves et al., 1998). Given that crops generally have greater and that they do not have a strong hunting culture, we nutritive and lower toxin levels compared to their wild believe that a multifaceted conservation programme will be relatives, agricultural fields presumably represent attractive able to garner local support for the conservation of the patches of seasonally abundant, high quality food. Therefore, Arunachal macaque. even under conditions of low density and high per capita availability of natural food, the macaques can be expected to raid crops and come into conflict with people as long as crops Acknowledgements are available close to their natural habitats. We are grateful to the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Depart- Despite low levels of hunting in Tawang, our surveys ment for their continued support and encouragement of our confirmed the occurrence of retaliatory persecution of research and conservation efforts, K.D. Singh, N.N. Zhasa macaques. The practice of keeping infants and juveniles as and the Divisional Forest Officers of Tawang and West pets also acts as an incentive to hunting (Chapman & Peres, Kameng districts, Pekyom Ringu for his excellent support, 2001 ). Furthermore, the local people reported that members Dorje Raptan and Nima Shiring for assistance with field- of other tribes, living or posted to Tawang, hunt primates for work, Rohan Arthur and M.D. Madhusudan for planning food and sport. Thus, although seemingly adaptable to help and discussions, and the Rufford Maurice Laing Foun- habitat change, the Arunachal macaque is threatened by dation, Whitley Fund for Nature and the Wildlife Conser- hunting, a situation that needs to be addressed urgently. The vation Society-India Program for funding. low infant to adult female ratio recorded suggests that not all adult females breed at any given time, and that females do not give birth every year, making the species yet more References vulnerable to hunting. 1993 Conservation of the Arunachal macaque will need to B ORANG,A.&THAPLIYAL, G.S. ( ) Natural distribution and ecological status of nonhuman primates in Arunachal Pradesh. focus on a landscape that has already undergone consider- Indian Forester, 119, 834–844. able anthropogenic impacts. A better understanding of the C AMPERIO C IANI, A., M OUNA,M.&ARHOU,M.(2000) Macaca patterns and intensity of crop-raiding will be required for the sylvanus as a biological indicator of the cedar forest quality. In design of appropriate conflict mitigation strategies (such as Proceedings of the First International Conference on Biodiversity 91 98 the adoption of alternate buffer crops, use of deterrents, and Natural Resources Preservation, pp. – . Al Akawayn University Press, Ifrane, Morocco. better crop protection measures, habitat management in the C HAKRABORTY, D., R AMAKRISHNAN, U., P ANOR, J., M ISHRA,C.& vicinity of villages, and the introduction of crop compensa- S INHA,A.(2007) Phylogenetic relationships and morphometric tion or insurance programmes). affinities of the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala,

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